...the Wisdom Of God Series

“THANKFUL FOR THE WISDOM OF GOD”

Proverbs 1:1-7

FBCF – 11/1/20

Jon Daniels

INTRO – November – one of fave months of yr. Temps cooler. Leaves continue to change. Flannel shirts, jackets, hoodies, sweaters, fire pits. Get ready for the holidays.

Since we are entering Nov., also going to enter a short sermon series for this month simply entitled, “Thankful For…”. Each Sunday, we will complete that statement w/ something for which we need to be thankful.

G.K. Chesterton: “The worst moment for an atheist is when he is really thankful & has no one to thank.” We’ve got SO much to be thankful for! We aren’t just thankful for temporal stuff of this world:

- A nice house that could burn down today

- Our health that can change in an instant

- Our jobs that we could unexpectedly lose

Our thankfulness goes so much deeper than those things. Our thankfulness is for things that last forever, things that the world could never be thankful for:

- Eternal life through Jesus Christ alone

- The everlasting love of God

- The everlasting, never-changing Word of God

- Our eternal home in heaven for those of us who know Christ

- The Gospel of Jesus alone that lasts forever

These are the things for which we need to be thankful b/c they will NEVER CHANGE when everything around us is changing! And another thing that will never change is the everlasting wisdom of God, which is what we are thankful for today.

EXPLANATION – Proverbs 1:1-7

Proverbs, along w/ Job, parts of Psalms, Ecclesiastes, & Song of Solomon make up the wisdom literature of the OT. Usually think of Psalms & Proverbs together.

- Psalms – How we relate to God

- Proverbs – How we relate to each other

Proverbs – very practical. Sermon from Proverbs series several yrs ago – “Practical Advice for Everyday Life,” b/c that’s exactly what you find in Proverbs. There aren’t very many topics that we encounter in life that aren’t covered somewhere in this book:

- Personal conduct

- Money & wealth

- Work ethic

- Politics

- Ambition

- Sexual relations

- Parenting

- Marriage

- Discipline

- Alcohol

- Revenge

- Charity

They’re all in there. And all of that advice is driven by the wisdom that comes from God.

It’s true that anybody can have some degree of wisdom, whether they’re a Christian or not. Lots of people who don’t believe in Jesus know how to handle their $ well, how to run a business, how to deal w/ adversity, how to handle tragedy w/ strength & dignity. Wisdom for living life is not exclusive to Christians.

But the Biblical truth that we stand on & that I’m preaching today is that we need to be thankful for God’s wisdom b/c it will last when all other worldly wisdom passes away. And that’s the application point for this message today.

APPLICATION – Let’s talk about this wisdom from God.

WHAT IS IT?

This wisdom that we find in v. 2 has to do w/ “skill.” Not just skill as in knowing how to do some specific job, although that is part of it.

- Exodus 28:2-3 – God said, “You shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory & for beauty. You shall speak to all the skillful, whom I have filled w/ a spirit of skill (same word), that they make Aaron’s garments to consecrate him for my priesthood.”

- The garment-makers’ skill in their work.

But there is more to this wisdom that just knowing how to do some specific thing well: change oil in a car – shoot a gun – bake a cake – build a house.

The wisdom that we are to thank God for today is the skills we have been given to choose the right course of action & the right way to live our lives to glorify God. It means having skill in the art of Godly living. This is the wisdom that we need today, the wisdom that we should be thankful for today, but, unfortunately, it’s the wisdom that so many people neglect & reject. Why are there so many who are like the “fools” [lit. “idiots’] in v. 7 who “despise wisdom & instruction”?

- B/c to accept God’s wisdom & live a truly Godly life means to accept a life of sacrifice, a life of selflessness, a life of going against the current of the world, sometimes even against our family & friends, & sometimes even against folks who are in the church.

- It means speaking out against things that others won’t speak out against.

- It means standing up for folks that no one else wants to stand up for.

- It means to “hear & increase in learning” & “obtain guidance” (v. 5). That takes a lifetime of commitment, hard work, & sacrifice, & so few are willing to do that.